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The Morning Call - July 27, 1997
BOSSTONES ARE MAKING A MIGHTY IMPRESSION ON SKA MUSIC'S 'THIRD WAVE' By Joe Warminsky III (A free-lance story for The Morning Call) July 27, 1997 Link The members of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have done two important things with "Let's Face It" (Mercury), their third full-length major-label release. First, they've scored a hit single, "The Impression That I Get," which finally has won wide recognition and popularity for the Bosstones' long-ignored blend of punk, hard rock and ska music. Second, they've won that place on the charts without compromising any of the energy or ideals on which they've built their career. This hasn't escaped the notice of the people who put together two of the summer's biggest festivals -- the Bosstones are part of the "Vans Warped Tour," which stops Wednesday at the CoreStates Center, Philadelphia, and the Aug. 20 H.O.R.D.E. Tour date at Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center. The Bosstones are at their best on "Let's Face It," and they act like they know it, too. But that's not to say they expected the success -- they're just excited that the extra time they spent on the album paid off, said saxophonist Tim Burton, who's been with the Boston octet for all of its decade-long existence. "We really wanted to dedicate ourselves to being a good studio band," Burton said. Ska music, of course, has a long tradition of great studio work, from its "first wave" as the precursor to reggae in 1960's Jamaica to the Two-Tone "second wave" in Britain in the late 1970's and early 1980's, when bands such as The Specials, The Selecter, Madness and the English Beat gave the music its first multi-racial, punk-influenced spin. The Bosstones have always included ska flavoring in their raucous mix, but they'll never call themselves a pure ska band, despite being one of the catalysts (along with The Toasters and Bim Skala Bim, among others) for ska's current "third wave," which has been lucrative for many willing to jump on the bandwagon. Burton said the band has faced many packs of young fans who have had little time to absorb the meaning of ska's recent popularity. "I've had kids come up to me and ask, 'How did the Bosstones invent ska?'" Burton said. "Y'know, it's cute . . . You just try to point them in the right direction and maybe mention a couple of the bands they could listen to. I'm sure that when I was a young kid and I got into music, I was pretty naïve about it, too." A youngster could do worse than turn to "Let's Face It" as a starting point. Previous Bosstones discs were darker, more aggressive and less traditional-sounding. The new music brightly and slickly recalls ska's first two waves with songs such as the second single "The Rascal King," "Royal Oil" and "1-2-8." As for fans looking to root out the poseurs in ska's latest wave, Burton offers no set method. "Just listen to the music and the message, maybe," he said. "Try to check out the background of some of the bands. I don't want to name any names, but I know there are (ska) bands that a year ago were metal bands." The message is there on "Let's Face It," too. From "Royal Oil" (which skewers rock 'n' roll heroine culture), to "Numbered Days" (which decries macho thuggery with a chickens-coming-home-to-roost tale about a bully), vocalist/lyricist Dicky Barrett makes direct calls for common sense. We came out of a punk scene, so we've always been interested in social issues," Burton said. "But our music has sometimes had more of a hidden message," as on "The Impression That I Get," which sparks debate -- even between band members -- about its content. "The song's about counting your blessings, y'know, until you have something that's really a problem," Burton added. Outside of music, the band's agenda has been clear. Pet projects have included letting an anti-racist activist group tag along on tour, and releasing the "Safe and Sound" compilation disc on its own Big Rig label. That disc came about when the band decided to focus on women's health issues after an attack on a Brookine, Mass., women's clinic left two women dead. (Burton notes that the clinic offered numerous medical services besides abortion.) "We were on the road for so long promoting ourselves . . . it's nice at some point to turn the attention away from us and point it at maybe an issue or something that's more important," Burton said. At least for this summer, the Bosstones have returned to garnering attention for themselves. Besides the Vans Warped Tour and the H.O.R.D.E. Tour, they've played several radio-station festivals and just about any other gig they can get. To new fans, the most conspicuous member of the group might be Ben Carr, the Bosstones member who never touches and instrument. His skanking, or ska-dancing, style serves as a constant reminder that ska is dance music, even if the Bosstones inspire a mosh pit more frequently. Carr, despite never playing a note, shares equally in decisions for the Bosstones, who manage themselves, Burton said. Barrett, guitarist Nate Alber and bassist Joe Gittleman write a majority of the songs, but Carr, Burton (who co-wrote "Desensitized" on "Let's Face It"), trombonist Dennis Brockenborough, saxophonist Kevin Lenear and drummer Joe Sirois all get equal pay from the band. They understand why those paydays will suddenly be bigger now, Burton said. Previous singles such as "Someday I Suppose" and "Kinder Words" were equally as catchy as "The Impression That I Get," but the industry wasn't ready. Ska might've been popular in the clubs for years, but successful third-wave bands such as the Bosstones, the Pietasters and Hepcat weren't household words. "But the big news is that once No Doubt gets a hit on the radio, that's when the industry stands up . . . because that's when they can make money of (ska)," Burton said. "(Industry bigwigs) respond to radio airplay. They respond to album sales. They don't respond to concert attendance, though that's how we measure success. If you measure it on those terms, ska music has been really popular for awhile now." The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, along with Social Distortion, Pennywise, Descendants, Sick Of It All, Bouncing Souls, Reel Big Fish, Suicide Machines, Less Than Jake, Lag Wagon, Royal Crown Revue, Millencolin, Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, Snapcase, H2O, Weston, Public Service, Stickmen, Pet, Lo Presher and Sun Child, will perform during the "Vans Warped Tour" Wednesday at the CoreStates Center, 3601 Pattison Ave., Philadelphia. Doors will open at noon and the music will begin at 1 p.m. Tickets $19.75 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones also will perform as part of the H.O.R.D.E. Tour featuring Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Soul Coughing, Taj Mahal, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Cake Like, Leftover Salmon, The Fool and The Chrysalids on Aug. 20 at Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center, 1000 Montage Mountain Road, Scranton. Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. and the music will begin at 4 p.m. Tickets: $35 in advance, $37.50 day of show.